At the time of Waco, ATF was desperately trying to make cases that proved they were equal to the FBI in terms of tactical/military style special response abilities. The agency, and most of its agents, suffered from a step child mentality and stopped at nothing to show the world how great they were. At Waco, ATF was incompetent at best and criminal at worst in their actions and Janet Reno sent in the FBI to try to clean up the mess and we all saw what a great job the FBI did.
I am 74 years old and first dealt with federal agents in the 1980's. I can tell you that the caliber of agents and their mentality was vastly different back then than now. I believe that the entire recruitment and selection process was changed significantly during the Clinton administration to fill both agencies with recruits from colleges and universities rather than experienced LEO and to look for psych profiles that more closely followed those looked for in the IRS and other regulatory agencies. Less focus on the law/Constitution and more focus on helping the administrations achieve their political goals. 40 years later, the leadership and ranks of these agencies are now full of these people.
I am 74 years old and first dealt with federal agents in the 1980's. I can tell you that the caliber of agents and their mentality was vastly different back then than now. I believe that the entire recruitment and selection process was changed significantly during the Clinton administration to fill both agencies with recruits from colleges and universities rather than experienced LEO and to look for psych profiles that more closely followed those looked for in the IRS and other regulatory agencies. Less focus on the law/Constitution and more focus on helping the administrations achieve their political goals. 40 years later, the leadership and ranks of these agencies are now full of these people.